Visa on arrival is an alternative way to obtain a visa for Vietnam in addition to the traditional way of getting a visa at Vietnam Embassy.

With this kind of visa, you – the visa applicant is required to submit an online application for a visa approval letter which functions as an official permission allowing you to board the flight and have visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. To get visa stamped, you need to submit your Vietnam approval letter together with your passport (at least 6 months validity), one passport-sized photo, entry and exit form and stamping fee to Immigration Officers at the airport.

There is a basic difference between visa on arrival and visa at Vietnam embassies. With visa on arrival, the Vietnam Immigration Department will issue a visa approval letter with your name on it stating that you are allowed to enter Vietnam on a specified date. Then, you will have the visa stamped onto your passport at the arrival airport in Vietnam. But for visa applied at the Vietnam embassies, the visa stamp will be on your passport when they send it back to you.

“Vietnam Visa approval letter” is a document issued by Vietnam Immigration Department (Vietnam Ministry of Public Security). It functions as an official permission allowing its owner(s) to board the flight to Vietnam and get visa stamped onto the passport upon arrival at Vietnam airport.

To complete the online application for a Vietnam visa approval letter, the visa applicants need to provide the following information n exactly as shown in their passports (as once issued, the approval letter could not be amended in any way).

No, you cannot. A later entry is allowed but an earlier entry is not. In case you change your plan and want to enter Vietnam earlier than the granted arrival date, you are recommended to apply for a new visa approval letter.

No, you cannot. Vietnam visa on arrival is applicable to air travel only since the visa applicants must get visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. If this is the case, you are recommended to contact the most convenient Vietnam Embassy/Consulate to apply for a visa.

Be kindly informed that there will be no problem if you change your arrival airport. Since the visa approval letter works at three international airports of Vietnam (Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang Airport in Danang City), you still get the visa stamped onto your passport at any of these three airport regardless of which you put in your visa application.

There is a big difference between a single entry visa and a multiple entry visa to Vietnam which lies in number of entries:

Single entry visa: You are permitted to enter Vietnam ONCE during your visa validity. After you exit Vietnam, you visa will automatically become invalid. If you would like to re-enter you need to apply for multiple entry visa.

Multiple entry visa: You can enter and exit Vietnam many times as you want during your visa validity.

There are two kinds of fee to be paid by anyone who use a visa on arrival to Vietnam, which are:

Service fee: is the fee you pay directly to Vietnam-visa.com for handling all procedures with the Vietnam Immigration Department to return the visa approval letter to your registered email. This fee varies depending on the number of applicants in your visa application as well as which kind of service you wish to use (normal, urgent or super-urgent processing). Please see our Visa Fees page for detailed prices for each type of visa.

Stamping fee: is the fee you pay directly in cash to the Immigration Officer at the Vietnam airport to get visa stamped onto your passport. Stamping fee can be paid in USD, AUD, VND, etc. but USD is highly recommended to avoid any unbalanced exchange rate. The current applicable stamping fee is:
– 45 USD for one 1 month or 3 month single entry visa;
– 65 USD for one 1 month multiple entry visa (less than 30 days);
– 95 USD for one 3 month multiple entry visa.

A valid visa is required for almost foreigners to enter Vietnam, except for those whose nationalities are included in the Vietnam visa exemption list approved by Vietnam Government. The Vietnam visa exemption is granted to the followings:

Citizens of Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos for visits of 30 days at the maximum.

Citizens of Phillippines for visits of 21 days at the maximum.

Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia and Finland for visits of 15 days at the maximum.

Citizens of Brunei, Myanmar for visits of 14 days at the maximum.

Citizens of France holding valid diplomatic or official passports for visits of 90 days at the maximum or several visits of 6 months at the maximum.

Citizens of Chile holding valid diplomatic or official passports for visits of 90 days at the maximum.

APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Holders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies for visits of 60 days at the maximum.

For those who travel to Phu Quoc Island – Vietnam : Foreigners and Vietnamese nationals bearing foreign passports who enter Vietnam through an international border gate and then travel to Phu Quoc Island and stay in Phu Quoc less than 30 days will also be granted Vietnam visa exemption. Passports must be valid for at least 45 days. After arriving in Phu Quoc Island, if visitors want to travel to other localities or stay in the island for more than 30 days, the immigration department will be responsible for issuing visas right on the spot.

With Vietnam visa on arrival, the visa applicants must prepare one photo to get visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. Following is the list of regulations regarding photo for visa on arrival:

The photograph must be passport-sized, identical, taken within the past 6 months.

The image size from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head should be between 1 inch and 13/8 inches.

The photograph may be in color or black and white. They must be full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background.

The photograph should be taken in normal street attire, without a hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline.

Uniforms should not be worn in the photograph with the exception of religious attire which is worn daily.

If prescription glasses, a hearing device, wig or similar articles are normally and consistently worn, they should be worn when the picture is taken.

Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless required for medical reasons. A medical certificate may be required to support the wearing of such glasses in the photograph.

Shortly after you submit your application, you should receive a confirmation email in the email address you provided us with. In this email, we confirm the information you entered earlier. If you find out any mistakes, please contact us right away by sending an email to vietnamvisa.in@gmail.com.

If you do not catch the mistake until later, you will have to re-apply for a new visa with the correct information.

No, you cannot. In order to board the plane, you must show the approval letter to the airlines. This letter is also compulsory in order for you to get the visa at the Vietnam airport. Therefore, we recommend that you leave plenty of time to apply for the visa to avoid having to delay or change your flight.

A Vietnamese visa application can be applied for 1 day to 6 months in advance. Although it takes only 2-3 working days to get your visa approved, it is strongly advised that you apply for a Vietnamese visa 1 – 2 weeks before your arrival date to avoid any payment or other administrative problems.

To apply for a visa to Vietnam, your passport must have at least 6 month’s validity. Therefore, if your passport is about to expire, please get a new one before applying for your visa in order to avoid unwanted problems at the airport.

In most cases, a passport scan is not required for an online visa application. However, if the Immigration office wishes to verify the information you provide, you are required to send them a scan copy of your passport. In such cases, we will notify you by email immediately.

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